Tongs



Aug. A16, 1927. 1,639,228

O.V A. LAYNE TONGS Filed May 24, 1924 U//yfz [a .125.

, joints of Well pipe or drill stem during drill- .tongs handle and chain.

Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

- UNITED STATES f f l 1,639,228

PATENT,l OFFICE OLLYN A. LAYNE, OF LOS ANGLES, CALIFORNIA.

TONGS.

, Application filed my 24,

ingl operations with a rotary rig. During wrenching operation, the jawteeth of such tongs are caused to bite deeply into the Work, and the chain is p-laced under great tension and drawn very tightly about the pipe. The handle, being backed up against a stationary abutment, cannot be conveniently moved back to release the tongs. t As a result, it vis extremely vditlicult to `release the Wrench from-the Workfwhen the usual latch Vbetween handle and chain is employed as av rcieasable connection therebetween. The

lost time,'abused and battered Wrenches, and j general unsatisfactory results ,emanating troni these-conditions are Well 'known to those acquainted Withthe art.

Therefore' itis among .the objects my invention to provide tongs having av latch which may be manipulated vWith ease andv speed. both in applying and releasing the--v Wrench.

I ainavvare it is old in the art to providel a latch lever pivoted to the free end of the t chain and adapted to be caminedbehindahookon the tongs handle in ordertotenson the `chain and draw it snugly aroundthewerk. My device differs from this-general type of Wrench in that the latch-lever is Ynot actuated toy tension the chain but merely A torms `a releasable connection jbetiveen a length to allowv thelatch to` beV freely. moved behind the' hook-in' fact itinay be actually spaced lfrom the engagement face r oi" the hookvvhen theftongs handle is thrust torwardly towards the- 'Work and the" chain loosely drawn about the Work. The initial tensioning rof the chain is accomplished by E l y Werk which' is inaccessible to other Wrenches.

f (subsequent longitudinal"movement "of the tongs first @a tl Work.

TheA chain is of y 'from the work which-movemeiit f lscltiiig engagement between the 1924. serial No. 715,523.

`latch and tongs handle and then takes :up

the chain slackA and carries the aW into operative position and engagementV Withr the Thus`, no heavy ressure 'need'be exerted on `my latch in orc er to rotate it into lockingl position, and the'latch and its mountingl are not subjected to those strains incident to the actuation of the usual cam lever latch. llorn chain links in no :,'Way affect the Veiliciency of myr latch7 for the additional slack existingl in the chain reason of Wear, is taken up by` merelymoving the tongs han-- die back further than normal"y On the other hand, a latclibt the type utilized for' tensioning the chain, `does not operate eiciently after thechain links or link pins wear or stretch suliciently to lincrease the overall .length of the chain, for the cam action is designed to take up only a predetermined amount of chain slack, and when the amount of slack increases-over normahthe latch is .fno longercompetent to'plac'e the chain under desirable tension. v

rThelatch levers of Wrenches which depend upon camacti'on for tensioning tliechain ymust necessarily beY of considerable length Y in orderthatthe leveragemay be ample to' enable the operator to tension thewchain sufficientlyto alloW-thelatch nose to cam into 'its seat.k y As atresult, suoli levers 'are comparatively.cumbersome and bulky and a Wrench equipped therewithfmay not .be

'used in cramped quarters. Furthermore7 the 'operator must cam tlielatch into place after the chain encircles' the Work,y and Where-the Working space is restricted, this vseparate and delayed latch movement is often impos-y sible of, accomplishment. especially `since itV requires considerable'effort,- applied in a particular manner, :to effect chain take-up by latchfmoveinent. i Y f VifThe lfundamental characteristics of myV ywrench enable `me tof employ a relatively .small latch ,handle Which occupies yav mininiuin of space and is movable into locking position berore the chainis applied tothe ico` Work. Consequently'no manual 'actuation of the latch required in tensioning the chain and the Wrenchmay be' applied vto ybut not under tension;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1, but shown partly in section and illustrating` the parts in the position they assume when the chain is tensioned i about the work;

3 is a side View of the wrench in application on the work: and

Fig. l is a section on line i-4i of Fig. 2.

it the outset, l wish to make the reservation that while 1 have illustrated and will describe a wrench which is of full efficiency only in its application to work of or close to agiven diameter, the invention, in its broader aspects, is also adaptable to adjustable wrenches, and I wish to reserve for myself all applications of the invention as fall within the scopel of the broader claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 indicates a wrench handle which preferably, though not necessarily, is integral with body member 11. A pin 1Q (Fig. l) removably secures the arcuate die or toothed aw 13 to one side of member 11, while a stop or abutment lil, preferably slightly hooked at its outer end, is provided on the opposite side of member 11. rThe end link 15 of chain 1GV is pivotally connected to member 11, while pivotally connected by pin 18 to link 17 is an attachment link 19, which may be considered as an end link of the chain.

A latch leverl 2O is pivoted to link 19 at 21 and is preferably in the nature of a bellcrank, one arm 22 of which is in the form of a. locking nose, and the ing the latch handle. Attachment link 19 includes the spaced sidey arms 2li' (preferablyv doubled for strength) and the bridge piece orstop 25 spanning the space between said arms. Nose S22 is adapted to swing between arms 2li when lever 20 is rotated about pin 21, but clockwise rot-ation'of the lever,

S as viewed in Figure 2, is limited by reason of stop 25 extending into the'path of handle 23, while nose 22 is adapted to engage said stop to limit the counter-clockwise rotation of said lever.

Since stop 25 extends into the included angle between the nose andliandle, itfunctions to prevent the lever from swinging to such a position as would bring handle 23V into axialparallelism with links 19; and

other arm Q3 form-` therefore said handle always projects laterally from the link and is always in a position to be readily and fully grasped, whether or not the chain be drawn about the work (pipe l), for instance) and whether or not the latch be in locking engagement with member 11. A

It will also be noted that when crank 2O is in the full line position of Figure 2 (which l will hereinafter designate as the locking position whether or not the latch be in engagement with member 11 or 4abutment 14) the nose center C lies at one side of the axial plane (indicated at A in Fig.' 2) common to lins 1S and 21.

llVhen the wrench is to be applied to pipe P, member 11 is thrust forwa 1dly towards the work to bring the effective teeth of the liaw past the center of the pipe', as illustrated in Figure' 1. jaw may also be described thus: Such teeth of the jaw as are later operative engagement with the work are now beyond axial plane B of the work, which plane is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the jaw. Handle 23 is then grasped and moved in a manner to draw the chain about the work. lf the latch is not in locking position this single niovei'i'ient not only draws .the chain about the work but also moves the latch to locking position. rl`he chain 'beingof sufficient length to allow the lever (in its locking position) to be brought into engagement with member 11 at a sufficient distance to the rear of abutment 14 to leave clearance between said abutment and nose 22, the latch is easily placed in that position, as 'illustrated in full lines in Figure 1, by a continuation of theV single movement. The nose is now in locking position and is vbearing on member 11, but is not yet in locking engagement with abutment 14e.

It is a noteworthy feature of the invention that by reason of the particular form and arrangement of the wrench elements, the operator is able to swing the chain about the work and position the locking` nose in proper alinement with member 1-1 by vone continuous sweeping n'iovement of his arm and without appreciably Y tensioning` the chain. This isl in contradistinction to the cam lever type of latch,where one movement draws the chain about the work, and a separate and independent inovenient of v the latch lis required to move said .latch into locking positioin'said mi'lependentY inove- Y mcnt'being vaccomplished only Vby the eX- pend-iture raf-considerable 4el'cbrt as it is ac- .companied by a tensioning of the chain.

By reason of the latch normally being in' full locking position and when not in this position, being movable thereinto by the same movement which draws Vthe chain about the work) itis possible to apply the This initial position ofthe to be brought intol Wrench in minimum time, a, very important feature in certain situations, not-ably in the making and breaking of drill stem tool joints.

Considering` the time required for Wrench application, my device is superior to ordi-` nary chain tongs Where thelink pins at the free end of the chain are hooked over lugs on the handle. To explain, While there is only one efficient pointof attachment between chain and handle, the link pins provide a plurality of attachment combinations, and often the operator must try several of these combinations before he strikes theparticular one suitable to the Work in hand. This juggling involves loss of time and is most aggravating. On the other hand, it is self-evident from the foregoing description that the application of my Wrench to Work involves no such fitting and trying, for the latch may be brought into initial contact Wit-h the side face of member 11 at any point, between obvious limits, and that subsequent longitudinal movement of handle 10y effects a lok between chain and handle irrespective of the location of said point of initial contact. In other Words there is no necessity for the fine adjustment of any of the Wrench parts during application to Work.

The grip on handle 28 may then be released, and member 11 (handle 10) is drawn back until abutment 14 engages nose 22, the nose then being both in locking position and locking engagement With member 11. I have differentiated between locking po sition and locking engagement in order to aid in the interpretation of certain claims appended hereto. The chain is of such effective length that'When locking engagement occurs as illustrated by full lines in Fig. 2, the effective teeth of the jaiv come into operati ve engagement with the Work, and further withdrawal of member 11 tensions the chain about the Work and subsequent working pressure on handle 10 causes the j avv teeth to bite farther into and grip the surface of the Work. Thereafter the Wrench may` be actu-V ated to turn pipe P, ormay be utilized to hold said pipe stationary While Work is being performed thereon. y

Under ideal conditions, the length ofthe chain 1G is such' that locking` engagement of abutment and nose occurs simultaneously with the operative engagement of the cen ter teeth of die 13 With the periphery of the vi'fork. Of course, it is not essential tothe successful operation of the'wrench that the center teeth be those engaged, and ordinarily ideal conditions are not Amet with, by reason of manufacturers variations in outside dif,

aineters of standard pipes, and slack develcping in the chain due to linkage Wear will causeV other than the center jaw teeth to en gage the Work; but such'conditions` Within reesonablelimits, do not detract from the efficiency of the Wrench as it may be actuated when any of the teeth are in operative engagement With the work.

As before noted., center C of nose 22 is offcenter With relation to pivots 18 and 2l when the latch is in locking position;7 and since abutment 1t isin alinement With center C and since said center lies at that side of plane Awvhich is remote from member ll and Work P, the pull of the chain under tension does not tend to release the nose from abutment 14, but rather tends to seat the nose more firmly. Therefore no keeper or other auxiliary means is necessary to retain the latch in locking engagement, and the latch may be properly called self locking.

ln order that the pull exerted on link 19 bythe tensioned chain may not cause said link to fulcrum on member 11 at any point intermediate the link pivot 18 and nose center C, andthereby tend to rotate said link and crank out of locking position, body member 11 and links 19 are so formed and arranged that arms 24 are clear of member 11 throughout their extent, or at least from pin 18 to center C, projected Thus, while the relatively broad nose 26 of member 11 engages link 17, arms 24 are spaced apart sufficiently to clear the sides of the relatively thin web 27 This feature of construction illustrated in Figures 2 and 4.

The central Washer 18L on pin 18 (or, in effect, the pivoted end of the attachment link 19) bears against' memberv 11 about Where web 27fmerges into nose 2G. This engagement establishes the position of the pivoted end of link 19 irrespective of the diameter of the Work and in spite of the tendency of the'tensioned chain tol move said pivoted ends towards the Work. Thus, since the relative position of link 19, lever 2U and abutment 14: are always the same when the latch is in locking engagement, the degrees of off' center' lock and the latch movei'nent into and out of locking engagement are constant in all situations. Were pin 18 free to clear nose 26 during application of the Wrench, the degree of angularity between link 19 and member 11 would vary with Work of different diameters, and this would result in an undesired variable locking effect.

Since handle 23 isnot required to extend along and in engagement With the side face ofv member 11 When the latch is locked in engagement with said member, the accumulation of foreign mattery on'said side face at points opposite the handle will not interfere With the retention of the nose in its correct alinement with abutment 1st when said nose first engages member 11 and Will not prevent said nose from assuming its position of self-lock. j

When it is desired to release the Wrench from the Work, latch 2O is rotated to the ill) dotted line position ot Figure 2, nose 22 tul- @ruining member 11, and link 19 moving outwardly about pin 18 .is a center during such rotation. its pin 21 moves outwardly trom inember 11, and hence out ot alinement with abutment 141, the tension ot the chain is released so said chain may be easily removed from the work.

lt will be noted that while the latch is self-locking, the tension ot the chain need not be appreciably increased during the release movement ot the latch, and that during rotation ol' the latch, nose 22 is moved longitudinally vfrom beneath the overhang or hook end ot abutment 1l so the nose may be cleared trom the abutment, pin 21 moved out ol' alinement with the abutment, and chain 1G slackencd away bet'ore said nose leaves its eng@l ient with the side face ofi body 11; and practically the only resistance to this movement is the sliding friction between the nose and the side tace et member 11, a resistance overcome with but little effort. This manner ot release is superior to those common to other Wrenches in that release movement ot my latch is under control o't Vthe operator, and when handle 23 is grasped by the operators hand during release rotation thereo't the latch may be held trom suddenly snapping off the abutmentand causing the heavy chain to whi p away trom the work it desired.

However, when used in connection with rotary rigs, it is most important that the wrench release be accomplished with great speed. A single hammer tap against handle 23 suffices to move nose 22 out ot locking engagement with abutment let, whereupon the chain whips lever' 2O clear ot said abutment and the chain unwraps itsell' trom the work. This movement is caused mainly by the outward impetus given link 19- (away from body 11) by the chain tension and bythe tact that, at the instant the chain tension is beingl released, the nose 22 is moving in such a direction as to cause the chain strain to quickly throw the latch end oit -link 19 outwardly. The impetus thus given the chain is sullicient to throw it entirely away from abutment 14.

1While l have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment ot my invention, l do not wish to be limited thereto except 'for such limitations as a Ytair interpretation ot the appended clairsmay import.

Having described a preferred tor-m ot my invention, l claim: Y

1. A wrench en'ibodying a body member, a `iaw, a chain connected at one end with the member, a locking` lever connected to and carried by the other end ot the chain and adapted to be moved into and out ot' locking position and intoand out of locking engagement with the member, the lever being behind hook 14 and on the side ot y adapted to provide a handle for drawing the chain about given work before said lever is in engagement .with the member, and coacting means on the lever and chain adapted to maintain the lever in locking position during such movement ot the chain about said work.

2. ln a pipe wrench, a body member., a jaw, a chain connected :it-one end with the member, a locking lever pivotally connected with the other end ot the chain and adapted to be swung into and out of locking position, and means adapted to establish the locking position of the lever, said means comprising i stop .on the chain adapted to coact with `the lever and limit its pivotal movement.

3. ln a pipe wrench, a body member, a j aw, a chain connected at one end with the member` a bell-crank pivoted to a chain link near the other end orn the chain. a locking nose on one arm of the crank, a handle on the other arm ot the crank, said nose being adapted to be moved to and 'from engagement with the member, the crank being posin tioned on the chain so the longitudinal axis ot said handle extends angularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of said chain link, and means on the chain adapted to limit the pivotal movement ot the crank and prevent said handle from being moved into axial parallelism with said link.

il. ln a pipe wrench, a body member, a chain fixed at one end to said member` a releasable connection between said member and the opposite end ot said chain, and a jaw adapted to be brought into operative engagement with .given work by longitudinal movement of the handle and a consequent tensioning of the chain atter the chain embraces the work and is r-eleasably connected to said member, Vsaid releasable connection including a one-piece lever on and independently movable with respect to said chain, said lever being adapted to be brought into locking` engagement with said member by said longitudinal movement` and the lever and member being so associated that they remain, unassisted, in locking engagement until the lever is independently moved.

5. rEhe combination with the handle, jaw and chain ot a pipe wrench, a lever pivotally connected with a link ot the chain, an abut-ment on the handle, and a locking nose on the lever and adapted to engage behind the abutment for r-e'leas'ably attaching said link to the handle` the abutment and nose being so associated when in engagement that the nose center lies without the line of centers ot the pivotal mounting ot the lever and the pivotal connection between said link and the adjacent link ot the chain and at that side ot said line ot' centers which is remote from the handle.

6. The combination with the handle, jaw

and chain of a pipe Wrench, a lever pivotally connected to one end ot a chain link, an abutment on the handle, and a looking nose on the lever and adapted to engage behind the abutment oi leleasably attaching said link to the handle, the other end only ot' said link being adapted to bear on said handle when the link and handle are in attachment, and the abutment andl nose being so associated when in engagement that the nose center lies Without the line of oenters of the pivotal mounting of the level1 and the pivotal connection between said link and the adjacent link of the Chain and at that side ot said line ot' centers which is remote 'from the handle.

ln Witness that l claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 14th day of May l924.

OLLYN A. LAYNE. 

